Marathon Runner Loses Shoe, Finishes Race in Replacement That Was Three Sizes Too Small

An entrepreneur from Bali is making news after completing an ultramarathon in a shoe that was three sizes too small for him.

Tom Hickman ran in Bali’s fist ultramarathon Sunday, and he did it in remarkable fashion. After having one of his Nike Flyknit sneakers snatched away by a dog during the race, Hickman came up with an ingenious way to finish off the stretch.

“Believe it or not, a dog stole one of my trainers during a pit stop to fix up my knee at around midnight,” he wrote on Facebook. To make do, he borrowed a similar shoe from a teammate.

There was one problem: Hickman’s teammate’s sneakers were three sizes too small, which forced him to cut open the toe area in order to power through the rest of the race.

“I carried on, but eventually wearing odd shoes started to really damage my right leg, and I slowed to a walking pace, and eventually barefoot,” he said.

Hickman’s dedication wasn’t without merit. According to WA Today, the 84-kilometer race reportedly raised $10,000 for Classroom of Hope, an Australian charity that provides education benefits to children in Africa and Asia.